Standing-grain thresher.



0. 0. BALDWIN. BEST AVAILABLE W1C. STANDING GRAIN THRESHEB. V

LPILIOATION FILED AUG. 33, 1910.

Patented Sept. 26, 1911.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUIIIA PLANOORAPH COHWMMIMN. D. C.

G. G. BALDWIN.

STANDING GRAIN THBBSHEB.

APPLICATION FILED 16.23, 1910.

1,004,1 34;, Patented Sept. 26, 1911..

8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

00 on fig 1 O wifmaey 30110144 64 g w agjkflm n. c. BALDWIN. V

STANDING GRAIN THBEBHER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 28, 1910.

1,004,134. a ented Sept 26. 1911.

UNITED sTArEs PATENT OFFICE.

CURTIS C. BALDWIN, OF NICKERSON, KANSAS.

STANDING-GRAIN THRESHER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CURTIS C. BALDWIN, a citizen of the United States,residing at N ickerson, in the county of Reno and State of Kansas, haveinvented a new and useful Standing-Grain Thresher, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The object of this invention is to combine the operations of harvestingand threshing small grain, as wheat, oats and the like from the standingstalks, thus avoiding the useless labor of handling the straw a numberof times and diminishing the danger of losses incident to presentmethods of treatment, such as fermentation in the shock or stack onaccount of exposure to moisture.

I am aware of the fact that attempts have been made to attain the aboveobject by the use of machines which in a general way appear to resemblemy own, but in View of the great demand for such a machine, I am of theopinion that none capable of successful operation is on the markettoday.

In its present form my invention comprises a carriage of the type wellknown in connection with the class of reaping machines known as headers,upon which the other parts are mounted; a stripping cylinder arrangednear the front of said carriage so as to be brought into contact withthe heads of standing grain; a pneumatic or blast device delivering airagainst said cylinder in such a direction as to cause an entrainingaction upon the outside air, the heads being first moved toward thecylinder by the entrained air and then driven positively against it bythe direct action of the blast; a screw conveyer at the rear of thecylinder for receiving the material from the cylinder; an elevatorreceiving the grain from the screw conveyer; a threshing device forcompleting the work begun by the first named cylinder; a cleaner forremoving the chaff an elevator for conveying the material from thethresher to the cleaner; and a gasolene engine for actuating the entirethreshing mechanism.

The principal features of my invention are found in the combination witha standing-grain threshing mechanism of a lightweight motor ofsuflicient power to actuate the same, and in the combination of theblast device and cylinder and parts coacting therewith, by which theheads of the grain are successfully and efficiently gathered andthreshed. Parts of the machine Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 23, 1910.

Patented Sept. 26, 1911.

Serial No. 578,528.

which are common in the art and the nature of which is readily seen fromthe drawings are not described in detail.

In the drawings illustrating the present embodiment of theinvention,-I*igure 1 is a top plan view of the machine, parts of thecasings being broken away; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine;Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. l viewed in the direction of thearrow, on a slightly enlarged scale; Fig. 4 is an elevation on anenlarged scale of a portion of the frame work of the machine, oneposition to which certain parts may be adjusted being shown in dottedlines; Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 55 of Fig. (3 viewed in thedirection of the arrow, one section of the cylinder being omitted; Fig.(5 is a fragmentary plan view of the central portion of the primarycylinder and associated parts; Fig. 7 is a view of the double sprocketwheel on an enlarged scale.

The motor and in some instances other parts whose details constitute nopart of my invention are diagrammatically shown in the drawings.

The carriage comprises essentially a frame F in which is fixed a mainshaft S on which shaft the main supporting wheels IV, and IV, revolve, abeam B secured at its outer end to the platform P, the platform carryingthe adjusting lever L and counterbalance springs S, S and beingsupported by the steering wheel the steering wheel being secured to therotatable stem S which is controlled by the steering arm T, all as iswell understood in the art. The platform is further provided with meansS, for attaching thereto a suitable evener to which draft animals may behitched. The rod R, connects the adjusting lever with the rocker R,which is pivotally connected at its lower end to the beam and at itsupper end to the rods R, and R, which are in turn pivoted at their innerends to levers L, and L The levers L, and L are rigidly secured toboxings B, B which rotate about the main shaft and to brace bars B, andB,, said brace bars and boxings being rigidly secured to forwardextending bars B and B,,, the last named bars being depressed at theirforward ends and extending under the primary threshing mechanism so asto adjustably support the same and the parts closely related thereto.

The stripping device is placed at the for- Ward end of the machine andextends at right angles to the direction of its propulsion. It is in theform of a cylinder C mounted to revolve in a suitable casing C Thecasing is composed of ends E, the stationary plates C and C the screen Gthe shield C and has secured thereto the windboard or escape valve 0,.The plate C is so formed as to provide a trough in which operates thescrew conveyer C The shield C is supported in sliding engagement withthe ends of the casing and is held in any position to which it isadjusted by means of the winged nut device C while the windboard 0 isrotatably mounted so as to be adjusted by means of the lever and rackdevice C The front side of the casing is open to admit the heads ofgrain and the blast from the air distributer D. The blast from thedistributer is directed by the deflectors D D which are rotatablymounted in the ends of the distributor casing so as to be adjusted bymeans of the lever and rack devices D and D Immediately back of theconveyer trough and at the left hand end thereof is an elevator E of theusual bucket conveyer type receiving the partially threshed materialfrom the screw conveyer. Elevator E empties at its upper end into thecasing R of the thresher. The thresher consists of the casing R thecylinder R and the concave R as common in the threshing art and deliversthe material threshed into a second elevator E which leads to thecleaning device A. The threshed material enters the cleaning chamberthrough the passage A the grain passing by gravity through thedescending portion A thereof, and the chafl being discharged through theupward extending portion A thereof, under the influence of the blastfrom tube A Air is supplied to the distributer I) through a pipe Dhaving flexible connection K therewith, and to tube A by a pipe D havinga suitable control valve K, said pipes leading from the casing F of thefan F Said fan casing is supported by a suitable frame F mounted on themain frame F. The air distributer is widely flaring from itscommunication with air tube D and provided internally with divergingdeflectors D which serve to distribute the air evenly along the front ofthe machine. The shield C is provided at its upper edge with an inwardlyextending lip L for purposes to be hereinafter noted.

The cylinder C is formed in two sections rigidly mounted on a commonshaft S said sections being spaced apart to permit placing upon theshaft near its middle portion the split sprocket wheel S by which motionis communicated to the shaft and cylinder. The connecting rod R includesa turnbuckle T in order that the height of the front portion of themachine may be varied through a greater range than that afforded by thelever L alone.

Motion is imparted to the elevator E by a pulley P connected by a belt Gwith a smaller pulley P, on the extension of the shaft 5 and the web ofsaid elevator acts as a driving chain or belt for the screw conveyer, apulley or sprocket wheel P being mounted on the conveyer shaft for thispurpose. From a second pulley P on the extension of the shaft S motionis transmitted by means of a belt G to the pulley P rigidly mounted onthe outer end of the shaft of the cylinder R On the inner end of lastnamed shaft is rigidly mounted a pulley F5 from which a belt G runs overthe driving pulley P on the elevator E Suitably located and mounted onthe frame F is a motor M for driving the entire threshing mechanism. Inthe present construction this motor is of the lightweight high-speedexplosive type as commonly employed for the propulsion of motorvehicles. Upon one end of the shaft of the motor is mounted a pulley Pfrom which motion is transmitted by means of a belt G to pulley P, onthe fan. On the other end of the motor shaft is a sprocket wheel N fromwhich a driving chain B transmits motion to the double sprocket wheel Vrotatably mounted upon the shaft S. The sprocket wheel W is of the splitpulley type for convenience in assembling parts and is formed with twochain receiving portions, one of which. receives the chain E the otherreceiving the chain B which transmits motion to the sprocket wheel SThis double sprocket wheel and chain arrangement appears necessary inthe present construction in order to permit the vertical adjustment ofthe front portion of the machine without interfering with the propertension of the driving chains. here not otherwise indicated thedirection of the moving parts is indicated by arrows on the drawings.

As has been demonstrated by a practical test the operation of my deviceis substantially as follows: The front part of the machine beingadjusted in height to correspond to the height of the grain to beharvested, the motor is started and the entire threshing mechanism isset into operation. The shield C is adjusted to correspond to the heightof the front portion of the machine and the height of the grain, thedeflectors D and D are adjusted to suitably direct the air blast intothe casing C and the windboard is turned to leave an opening for theescape of chafl' carried by the air blast. The machine is now given aforward motion through the standing grain. The sheet of air from thedistributer and the upward and inward motion of the portions of thecylinder at the entrance to the casing produces an entraining actionupon the air in the region of the gap between the deflector D and theupper edge of the shield C This causes an appreciable current of airthrough said gap which in connection with the forward motion of themachine brings the heads of g -ain within reach of the direct blast fromthe distributer. The direct blast drives the heads positively into thecasing C and into contact with the cylinder. By the action of thecylinder the grain is completely removed from most of the heads whilethose not threshed are torn from the stalks. Owing to the resistanceoffered by the standing straw in its attachment to the ground, it isfound that a concave is not necessary in connection with the operationof this cylinder which is termed for distinction the stripping cylinderbut which serves also, to a great extent, to thresh the grain from theheads. The screen C permits the escape of a portion of the air from theblast thus preventing excessive air pressure and undesirable currents.The lip L of the shield by deflecting inward the air set in motion bythe lower portion of the cylinder aids in preventing a current of airtherefrom in opposition to the incoming grain. As will be readilyunderstood from the drawings, the screw conveyer collects the materialfrom the primary cylinder and delivers it to the elevator E, which inturn delivers it to the thresher. The thresher is provided with aconcave to suitably retard the progress of the material so that it maybe thoroughly acted upon by the secondary threshing cylinder. From thethrcsher the material is conveyed by the elevator E to the cleaner whereit is acted upon as heretofore noted.

Attention may be called to certain features which contribute to thesuccess of my invention in a field where others have failed. By causingthe primary cylinder to rotate so that the portion engaging the standinggrain moves upward, I am enabled to dispense with a concave in theconnection, and the absence of the concave enables me to make thecylinder of a lighter construction and to place the teeth closertogether and in staggered arrangement so that no grain which enters thecasing can escape their action. The combined action of the direct andentrained air currents has proved very effective in directing the graininto the threshing device, while the opening afforded by the adjustmentof the windboard permits the escape of a large amount of waste matter.The gasolene engine as now developed and employed affords ample powerfor the threshing operations without rendering the machine unwieldlybecause of excessive weight, and without depending upon the tractiveforce of drive-wheels upon the ground. The combination of the strippingcylinder of light construction with an ordinary threshing device enablesme to greatly reduce the length of the concave and heavy cylindercooperating therewith, thus materially reducing the weight of themachine and at the same time rendering the threshing action moreeffective.

I claim:

1. In a standing-grain thresher and in combination, a stripping deviceadapted to receive the heads of standing grain, a blast distributerprovided with a discharge aperture in advance of said stripping deviceand directed toward the same adapted and arranged to direct a blastagainst said heads in the direction of their entrance into saidstripping device, means for changing the angle of elevation of saidblast, a casing and means for creating pneumatic pressure therein, and aconduit leading from said casing to said distributer.

2. In a standing-grain thresher and in combination, a stripping device,a blast distributer having a discharge aperture arranged substantiallyin advance of said stripping device, directed toward the same and spacedtherefrom, the space between said distributer and stripping device beingadapted to receive the heads of standing grain, the distributor beingadapted to dimet the blast against said heads and toward the strippingdevice so as to entrain a rising current of air; and means for supplyinga blast to the distributer.

3. In a standing-grain threshcr, a stripping device, a blast creatingdevice, and a blast distributing device having a discharge aperture inadvance of the stripping device and directed toward the same, saidstripping device comprising a casing adapted to receive the heads ofstanding grain, and a stripping cylinder rotatably mounted therein; saiddischarge aperture being directed toward the upper part of said cylinderand said blast distributing device being formed and arranged to direct ablast through said grain and toward the cylinder throughout its lengthso as to entrain a current of air from without.

4. In a standing-grain thrcsher, the combination of a stripping devicearranged and adapted to receive the heads of standing grain, and a blastcreating and distributing device; the stripping device comprising acasing and stripping cylinder rotatably mounted therein, the casingprovided in its upper portion with a screen, at its upper rear portionwith an escape valve and at its lower front portion with an adjustableshield; the blast creating and distributing device being formed andarranged to direct the blast against the grain and toward said cylinderthroughout its length, and in such direction as to entrain a portion ofthe outside air.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a frame, ofa rotary stripper, a shield below and in front of said stripper adaptedto permit the heads of standing grain to pass over it to said stripper,means for creating an air current to carry said heads of grain to saidstripper, and means for rotating said stripper in such direction thatits forward side striking said heads moves upward.

6. In a standing grain thresher, the combination with a movable frame,of a rotary stripper carried thereby adapted to receive the heads ofstanding grain, means for so rotating the stripper that its forward sidein contact with the heads will move upward, and means for directing theheads of the grain against the upper portion of the upwardly-moving sideof said stripper.

7 In a standing grain thresher, the combination with a rotary stripperadapted to engage the heads of grain by an upward stroke, a shieldextending from the lower part of said stripper around toward the frontover which the heads pass, and means in advance of said. stripper fordirecting a blast of air thereto above said shield whereby the headswill be forced against the stripper.

8. In a standing grain thresher, the combination with a casing open atone side to receive the heads of grain, of a stripping cylinder thereinhorizontally at the rear margin of said opening, means for so rotatingsaid cylinder that its forward side will move upward, a blastdistributer in advance of said cylinder extending substantially thelength of said cylinder and discharging across said opening againsttheupper half of said cylinder, and means for creating a blast of air fromsaid distributer.

9. In a standing grain thresher, the combination with a casing open atone side to receive the heads of grain, of a stripping cylinder thereinhorizontally at the rear margin of said opening, means for so rotatingsaid cylinder that its forward side will-move upward, a blastdistributer in advance of said cylinder extending substantially thelength of said cylinder and discharging across said opening against theupper half of said cylinder, and means for creating a blast of air fromsaid distributer; a deflecting plate at the discharge opening of saiddistributer controlling the direction of the blast.

10. In a standing grain thresher, the combination with a casing open atthe front, of a stripping cylinder across said casing along the marginof said opening at the bottom and extending toward the top, a shieldextending from the bottom upwardly around the front side of saidcylinder for approximately half its height, a blast dis tributer inadvance of said cylinder discharging across said opening against saidcylinder above said shield, and means for creating an air blast fromsaid distributer.

11. In a standing grain thresher, the combination with a casing open atthe front, of a stripping cylinder across said casing along the marginof said opening at the bottom and extending toward the top, asemicylindrical shield extending from the bottom upwardly around thefront side of said cylinder for about half its height, said shieldhaving an inturned lip or flange at its upper edge, means for adjustingthe height of said shield around said cylinder, a blast distributer inadvance of said cylinder discharging across said opening against saidcylinder above said shield, and means for creating an air blast fromsaid distributer.

12. In a device of the class described, the combination with a casinghaving an opening in its forward side to receive the heads of standinggrain, of a blast distributer in advance of said opening directedtherein above the lower margin of said opening, means for creating ablast of air from said distributer, and stripping mechanism within saidcasing adjacent said opening whereby the said blast will draw airupwardly into said opening and the heads of grain will be lifted andpositively driven into said opening against said stripping mechanism.

13. In a device of the class described, the combination with a casinghaving an opening in its forward side to receive the heads of standinggrain, of a blast distributer in advance of said opening directedtherein above the lower margin of said opening, means for creating ablast of air from said distributer, stripping mechanism within saidcasing adjacent said opening having an upward stroke, means forpermitting the escape of air and chaff along the upper rear portion ofsaid casing, and means for collecting and conveying the grain along thelower portion thereof.

14. In a device of the class described, the combination with a casinghaving an opening in its forward side to receive the heads of standinggrain, of a stripping cylinder within said casing, a blast distributerhaving a narrow elongated discharge opening substantially the length ofsaid cylinder in advance of said cylinder discharging into said openingin said casing, means for creating air pressure, and pipe connectionfrom said pressure means to said distributer including a flaring portionhaving therein diverging partitions to distribute the air.

15. In a device of the class described, the combination with a casinghaving an opening in its forward side to receive the heads of standinggrain, of a blast distributer in.

advance of said opening directed therein above the lower margin of saidopening, means for creating a blast of air from said distributer,stripping mechanism within said casing adjacent said opening, aperforated screen along the top of said casing in the rear of saidopening to permit the escape of air, an adjustable windboard in the rearupper portion of said casing to permit the escape of chaff, and means atthe bottom of said casing to collect the grain.

16. In a device of the class described, the combination with anelongated casing open at one side to receive the heads of standinggrain, of a stripping cylinder within said casing extending along saidopening, the casing being provided with a foraminous section above saidcylinder to permit the escape of air, a windboard in the rear of saidsection to permit the escape of air and trash, a conveyer along thefloor of said casing at the rear of said cylinder, an elevator at theend of said conveyer, and means for discharging a blast of air into saidcasil'ig through said opening.

17. In a standing grain thresher, the combination with a main framemounted on wheels, of a fixed casing mounted on said frame, threshingmechanism in said casing, an elongated vertically adjustable casingacross said thresher in advance of said threshing mechanism having anopening adapted to receive the heads of standing grain, means carried bysaid adjustable casing for stripping the heads from the standing stalksof grain and partially separating the chaff and trash from the grain anddischarging said chaff and trash, means for collecting the grain in saidadjustable casing and conveying it to said threshing mechanism, andmeans for separating chaff and trash from said grain after it has passedthrough said threshing mechanism.

18. In a standing grain thresher, the combination with a main framemounted on wheels, of means thereon for threshing and separating grain,a vertically adjustable casing supported by said frame and having anopening adapted to receive the heads of standing grain, strippingmechanism within said adjustable casing, an air blast distributer havinga discharge aperture substantially in advance of said strippingmechanism and discharging into said opening, a blast creating device onthe said frame, flexible connection between said blast creating deviceand distributer, and means for collecting the grain in said adjustablecasing and conveying it to the threshing means.

19. In a device of the class described, the combination with a mainframe mounted on an axle carried by wheels, of threshing mechanism,separating mechanism and blast creating mechanism mounted on said frame,a motor mounted on said frame provided with connections for operatingsaid mechanisms, an elongated casing in advance of said wheels and mainframe, adapted to receive the heads of standing grain, means therein forstripping said heads, means for conducting a blast from said blastcreating mechanism, to said stripping mechanism, means for separatingfrom the grain the chaff released by said stripper, means for conveyingthe grain from said stripper to said thresher, and means on said mainframe for adjustably supporting said casing at different elevations.

20. In a device of the class described, the combination with a mainframe mounted on wheels, of threshing and separating mechanism thereon,a light elongated casing extending across said machine in advance ofsaid main frame and wheels, means in said casing for stripping andpartially threshing the heads of standing grain and for partiallyseparating the chaff from the grain, means for conveying said strippedgrain to said threshing mechanism, and means on said main frame foradjustably support-ing said casing at different elevations.

21. In a device of the class described, the combination with a mainframe mounted on wheels, of threshing and separating mechanism thereon,a light elongated casing extending across said machine in advance ofsaid main frame and wheels, means in said casing for stripping andpartially threshing the heads of standing grain and for partiallyseparating the chaff from the grain, means for conveying said strippedgrain to said threshing mechanism, means on said main frame foradjustably supporting said casing at different elevations, a motorcarried by said frame, and connecting means from said motor to saidthreshing mechanism, said stripper and said conveying means foroperating the same.

22. In a standing grain thresher, the combination with a rotary stripperadapted to engage the heads of grain by an upward stroke, a shieldextending from the lower part of said stripper around toward the frontover which the heads pass, and means for creating a current of air abovesaid shield toward said stripper whereby the heads will be forcedagainst the stripper.

23. In a standing grain thresher, the combination with a movable frame,of a rotary stripper carried thereby adapted to receive the heads ofstanding grain, means for so rotating the stripper that its forward sidein contact with the heads will be moved upward, and means for creating acurrent of air toward and over said stripper whereby the heads of grainwill be carried against the upwardly moving side of said stripper.

24. In a standing grain thresher, the combination with a movable frame,of a rotary stripper carried thereby adapted to receive the heads ofstanding grain, means for so rotating the stripper that its forward sidein contact with the heads will move upward, and means acting inopposition to the motion of said stripper for forcing the heads of thegrain against said stripper.

25. In a standing grain thresher, the combination with a casing havingan opening in its forward side to receive the heads of standing grain,of stripping mechanism within said casing adjacent said opening strikingsaid heads with an upward stroke, means for causing a current of air toflow into said casing over said stripping mecha nism whereby the headsof grain will be forcibly carried against said mechanism, means forpermitting the escape of air and chaff from said casing in the rear ofsaid stripping mechanism, and means for collecting and conveying theseparated grain.

26. In a standing grain thresher, the com bination with a casing havingan opening in its forward side to receive the heads of standing grain,of a stripping cylinder within said casing adjacent said opening, meansfor so rotating the cylinder that its forward side in contact with theheads will move upward, means for causing a current of air to flow intosaid casing over said cylinder whereby the heads of grain will beforcibly carried against the cylinder, means for permitting the escapeof air and chaff from said casing in the rear of said cylinder, andmeans for collecting and conveying the separated grain.

CURTIS C. BALDWIN. Witnesses:

JUNE M. HULL, FRED NEWTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

